A Shore Thing Read Online Free Page B

just begun, so why would I agree to give everything away before we’d even had a chance to try to make it on our own?
    Jim advised me to take the money and run.
    Sheila urged me to listen to Justin—then marry him quick.
    Even Bobby said he doubted a better offer would ever come my way.
    Not taking their advice had furthered the divide between my siblings and me, at least the older two who seemed to think it was up to them to provide parental guidance since our own were so often traveling. “Traveling away our golden years,” as Mom always said.
    And it definitely drove a wedge between Justin and me. If I had acquiesced early on, would our story have had a different ending?
    At times I still wondered.
    I took in the faces of each of my family members, aware of how quickly they moved on to other conversations and topics. Why hadn’t the news about the Kitteridge property bothered them as much as it bothered me? They passed platters and flung jokes with ease. After Vince delivered a punch line, my brother Jim threw back his head and launched his booming voice to the rafters while our father smiled mildly at his model son with the comedic bent.
    In the backyard my doggy companion smashed his nose against the clear French door, his breath and wet tongue leaving a mess that resembled my mood: foggy and in disarray. While my family had moved on—rather quickly even for them—I had not. I planned to call the Kitteridges first thing tomorrow. Maybe they would have a change of heart.

Chapter Four

    Bobby’s voice sounded groggy over the phone. “It’s seven in the morning, Callie.”
    “You used to be an insomniac.”
    He sighed. “That was before we got pregnant.”
    I laughed. “We?”
    “You know what I mean—Greta’s pregnant, and she’s been keeping me up late with baby projects.” I heard him yawn. “And now my kid sister won’t let me get my beauty rest.”
    Thank God for Bobby. Everyone called him Bob but me. I refused to be pulled into the stodginess that so much of my family had embraced. Despite his usual tailored, nine-to-five inspired appearance in a white starched shirt coupled with dark, pressed pants, one look at Bobby and in my heart we’re five and six again, huddled at the cove during low tide, trying to pry an abalone from its rocky home—before learning that was a big no-no, of course.
    He grunted into the phone. “You still there? Or did you wake me for nothing?”
    “I’ve been thinking all night about the Kitteridge property.”
    Bobby groaned. “You’re obsessed. You know that?”
    I grimaced. “What? Am I really the only one who thinks that property is worth saving? Don’t you remember all the hikes we took down there? We’d be gone for hours—”
    “Of course I remember.”
    My left hand gestured while I talked, even though no one was around to see it. “If we don’t at least try to intervene, your baby will never have the kind of childhood you and I did.”
    “So what do you want me to do?”
    “Advise me. Help me figure out where to turn first.”
    “Before I’ve even had my coffee?” He sighed. “Don’t you think you should call the Kitteridges first?”
    “Of course, and I did that already. There was no answer, though. I haven’t seen Timothy’s old Ford pickup rambling through town in days, and I think they may have gone to visit their daughter.” I tapped my pencil on the table. “You and I are both old enough to remember how they promised to leave that piece of land open for the community—that’s what they’ve always wanted—so my guess is that they aren’t aware of the buyer’s plans.”
    Bobby sighed again. “Or maybe they are very aware of it and don’t want to face the neighbors.”
    “You think they know?”
    Bobby’s low voice challenged me. “Maybe we shouldn’t interfere, Callie. They might really need the cash.”
    My heart softened recalling the recent rumors about the Kitteridges’ money troubles. “I’ve wondered that too, but